Automatic hay bailer trailer



March 23, 1965 w` w. ADAMS ETAL n Re- 25,750

AUTOMATIC HAY BALER TRAILER March 23, 1965 w. wyADAMs ETAL Re. 25,750

AUTOMATIC HAY BALER TRAILER INVENTORS W. W. ADAMS R. M. HENDRICKS March23, 1965 w. w. ADAMS ETAI` Re 25,750

AUTOMATIC HAY BALER TRAILER Original Filed Aug. 5, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTORS ADAMS R. M. HENDRICKS 0 n 5 m .n IV c o o I e R yum m mAH S no ....o W.M. 6 N w n n n W. m L n HM m n E m M m w A m W. m u m w m \\mvw mw illli 9 1 I I ||||||l s z@ w Du wm. QW\ H@ o o w M m M 3 u. .QN` lmm. 2 N QQ m mm, g .n M o Nm\\ (l March 23, 1965 w. w. ADAMS ETAL Re.25,750

AUTOMATIC HAY BALER TRAILER 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Original Filed Aug. 5, 1959INVENTORS W. W. ADAMS R M HENDRICKS United States Patent iif Re. 25,750Reissued Mar. 23, 1965 ICC 25,750 AUTOMATIC HAY BAILER TRAILER Wayne W.Adams, 1110 N. Main St., Roswell, N. Mex.,

and Roy Hendricks, Roswell, N. Mex.; said Hendricks assigner to TheoGarrison, Moline, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Original No.3,010,593, dated Nov. 28, 1961, Ser. No. 831,855, Aug. 5, 1959.Application for reissue Sept. 27, 1963, Ser. No. 312,270

18 Claims. (Cl. 214-520) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears inthe original patent but forms no part of this reissue specification;matter printed in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention comprises a novel and useful automatic hay baler trailerand more particularly relates to a trailer adapted to be attached to anautomatic hay baler and which shall be capable of automatically loadingbales from the baler into the trailer and for automatically dischargingthe bales from the trailer after the latter has been completely filledthereby.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a trailerspecifically adapted for attachment to an automatic hay baler and whichshall be capable of effecting automatically the loading and unloadingoperation of the trailer without requiring the presence or attention ofany attendants during its automatic operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trailer which shall becapable of automatically loading and unloading bales of hay and similarcommodities.

A further and more specific object of the invention is to provide atrailer which shall be adapted to be attached to a conventional haybaler and to be operated by mechanism carried by a conventional tractorby which the hay baler is pulled during its operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trailer specificallyadapted for the automatic loading and unloading of hay bales and whichWill completely obviate the necessity for any attendants during itsoperation.

A further and more specific object of the invention is to provide a haybaler trailer in which the bottom shall consist of a plurality ofrollers with power driving means for the same and which shall besubstituted for the usual solid bed of a trailer.

A further and important object of the invention is to provide anautomatically loading trailer for hay balers wherein the feed of thebales from the baler shall automatically operate mechanism forpositioning the bales in a transverse row across the trailer; togetherwith means actuatable upon the complete filling of the irst row formoving this row as a unit one row tothe rear to provide space for thereceiving of a new row of bales in the trailer.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an automaticoperating mechanism for a trailer in accordance with the immediatelypreceding object which, upon the complete tilling of the body of thetrailer with rows of bales shall be automatically actuated to effectsimultaneous movement of all of the bales in the trailer from the frontto the rear and from the rear thereof.

Yet another and more specific object of the invention is to provide anautomatically loading and unloading trailer which shall have asimplified mechanism for automatically eiecting the loading andunloading operations thereof and which shall employ three conventionalclutches for controlling the power supply to the mech anism throughoutits automatic operation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE l is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of an automatictrailer in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational View of the left side of the trailer ofFIGURE 1 and showing the manner in which the trailer is associated withthe discharge end of an automatic baler for coaction therewith;

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevational view of the trailer of FIGURES 1 and 2and showing a particular disposition of the means for automaticallymoving the first complete transverse row of bales rearwardly in the bodyof the trailer to make room for the forming of the next transverse rowof bales;

FIGURE 4 is a View partly in perspective and partly diagrammatic of theoperating mechanism of the invention, certain parts of the trailer beingremoved and shown in dotted lines therein;

FIGURES 5-8 are top plan views, diagrammatic in nature, which illustratesuccessive steps in the automatic loading operation of the trailer;

FIGURE 9 is a detail view of a portion of the operating mechanism of thetrailer;

FIGURE l0 is a vertical sectional detail view taken substantially uponthe plane indicated by the sectionV line 10-10 of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a further detail view in vertical section takensubstantially upon a plane indicated by the section line 11-11 of FIGUREl0; and

FIGURE 12 is a detail view of a portion of the mechanism of theinvention.

Referring iirst to FIGURES 1 4, it will be observed that the automaticloading and unloading trailer in accordance with this invention isdesignated generally by the numeral 10 and as shown in FIGURE 2 isadapted to be coupled in any desired manner to the rearward end of anautomatic hay baler, the rearward portion of which is designatedgenerally by the numeral 12, it being understood that this hay baler maybe of any suitable type by means of which bales of hay as shown at 14are discharged rearwardly from a discharge chute 16 form` ing a part ofthe hay baler. It will be understood that the hay baler is itselfcoupled to a tractor vehicle, not shown, by which the [hayer] hay baleris powered and by means of which power is applied to drive the variousmechanisms forming a part of the automatic trailer 10. It will befurther realized that in operation the tractor draws the hay balerthrough a iield while the latter tows the trailer behind the same, thebaler automatically and continuously forming the hay into bales 14 anddischarging these bales into the trailer 10 during the travel of thecombined apparatuses through a field whose crop is to be baled by thisinvention.

The trailer 10 consists of a [moble] mobile frame comprising a bodyhaving a pair of side walls as at 20, 22, which may consist of anysuitable open framing, together with an open front and an open rear. Thetwo side walls 20 and 22 are joined at the front as by a transversehorizontal frame member 24 having suitable supporting bracing as at 26,28 and 30 secured thereto, see in particular FIGURE 4. The usual bedcomprising the bottom of a trailer is replaced in the present instanceby a construction to be subsequently set forth.

Projecting from the side walls 20 and 22 of the body are suitablesupport means as at 32 upon which are mounted supporting caster wheels34 by which the body is supported and readily manuevered.

It will be observed especially from FIGURE 2 that the bottom 36 of thetrailer body is disposed at a lower elevation than that of the dischargechute 16 of the baler 12, and. that` from the forward. end of. thetrailer body there extends an inlet chute 38, see also FIGURES 1 and 4,whose bottom wall is disposed at the same horizontallevel as that ofthedischarge chute 16 and which isI positioned. in alignment therewithwhereby a bale 14 fed along the discharge 16 will in turn be forced bythe bales behind the same into the inlet chute 38 and thus into the bodyof thetrailer.

The arrangement is such that as thej bale passes into the inletv chute38, it will drop from the inward or rearwardend ofl the same anddownwardly upon the bottom 36, so that the bale will stand upon its endas shown in FIGURE 2. Since the inlet chute 38 is disposed immediatelyadjacent one side wall of the trailer body, as for example against theside wall 22v thereof, it will stand in the forward left hand corner ofthe body as viewed in FIGURES 1v and 3 and as shown in the diagrammaticviews of FIGURES and 7.

In addition to the hereinbefore described general construction andarrangement of the trailer and its associationwith thehay baler, thetrailer includes a number of subcombinations or components by whichautomatic loading and unloading operations are performed. These includeaptransverse feed means by which the bales introduced singly at` theleft forward end of the body are moved step-bystep transversely acrossthe front portion of the body untilfthere is secured a filled fronttransverse row of bales standing on end therein; a longitudinal feedmeans operable to move each completely filled front transverse row ofbales rearwardly of the body to provide room for the next front row tobe formed until the entire body has been filled by this step-by-steprearward motionof the transverse rows as units towards the rear; adischarge means operable when the body has been completely filled, toautomatically move all of the bales to the rear of the body anddischarge the bales therefrom; together with a drive means which impartsoperation to eachof-the foregoing means, and which includes controlmeans rendering each of the foregoing means selectively operable inproperly timed relation to the over-all cycle operationV of thesdevice.The construction, arrangement and the operation of the above-nentionedfour component mechanisms of the complete apparatus will now bedescribed in detail in the foregoing order.

TRANSVERSE FEED MEANS The lower sidewalls 20 and 22 include a pair oflongitudinally extending channel members each indicated by thenumeral40, see also FIGURES 4, 9 and 10, and whichserve as set forthhereinafter to support the novel bottom construction 36 of the trailerbody. The transverse feed means, designated generally by the numeral 42,comprises the forward or front portion of this bottom 36 and isdisposedimmediately adjacent the open front of the body. This transverse feedmeans includes a transversely extending conveyorwhich serves to supportthe successive bales 14 discharged thereonto by the inlet chute 38 andto transport these balessin a step-.by-step motion transversely acrossthe front portion of the body of the trailer from the side wall.22 totheside wall 20 thereof until there is formed a completely filled fronttransverse row of bales as shown in FIGURES 5 and 6.

This conveyor, as will be best understood by reference to FIGURE 9,includes laterally projecting support brackets 44 which projectoutwardly from the sides of the two side walls 20 and 22 and from thechannel members 40thereof. Iournaled in suitable journal bearings as at46 carried by the outer endsof the brackets 44 are a pair of .axles 48for the sidewalls 22 and 50 for the side wall 20, theseaxles in turnhaving rollers or. drums 52 securedthereon over which a pair of spacedbelts each designated by the numeral 54 are entrained. The top surfacesof these beltsform a supporting surface upon which the bales 14 rest andby which the bales are transported across `thehbody of thev trailer asabove set forth.

Obviously any suitable structural members maybe disposed beneath theupper flights of the belts 54 vand upon which these upper flights slide,in order to support the weights of the bales as the latter are supportedby and transported across the bottom of the trailer body.

One of the axles, as for example the axle 48, is utilized to impartcontrolled travel or movement to the belts 54 in a manner to besubsequently set forth. For that purpose, as shown best in FIGURE 9, adriven gear 56 is xedly secured to the forward end of the axle 48 and iscontinuously in mesh with a driving gear 58 which in turn is fixedlysecured to a shaft 60 which forms part of a connecting means by whichthe transverse feed means is operatively connected to a drivingmeanswhich in turn is connected to a source of power all as set forth`hereinafter.

In order to control the application of power to thev axle to astructural member 70, See FIGURE 10, carried by the previously mentionedbrackets 44 of the body, the shaft 66 in turn being operativelyconnected to the connecting means by which the gearing 5S and 56 isoperated, in a manner to be subsequently described. However, it may behere noted that the position of the actuator lever 62 is such that thislever is positioned between the two belts 54 and adjacent the left endof the same and rises above the surface of the top flight of the beltsso that when a bale is dropped from the inlet chute 38 upon the left endof the conveyor, it will rest upon and depress the actuator 62 and thusplace in operation the connecting means and cause travel of the belts 54to thereby move the bale resting thereon towards the right or towardsthe side 2t) of the body. The actuator is so placed that movement of theconveyor will be continued until the bale has moved a suliicientdistance to the right to release the actuator E64] 62 therebydeenergizing the driving means for the conveyor, this being effectedafter a sufficient space is provided to receive the next bale dischargedinto the body by the inlet chute 38.

It will be understood that any desired means, not shown, may be providedfor returning the actuator 62 to its raised inoperative position inreadiness for actuation by being depressed by the next bale beingdropped thereon.

In order to maintain the bales in transverse alignment as they are movedwith a step-by-step motion across the front end of the body to form thecompletely lilled first transverse row of bales, there is provided atransversely extending guide bar 72 carried by suitable support brackets74 mounted upon and rising from the top edges of the side walls 2t) and22. Fingers as at 76 may depend from this guide bar and are sopositioned as to engage the upper portion of the rearward surface of therow of bales, as shown in FIGURE 2, and prevent their rearward movementuntil such time as an arcuate swinging movement is given to the guidebar 74 in the direction indicated by the arrow 78 in FIGURE 2, when theentire front transverse row` of the bales is moved or shifted one rowrearwardly of the body by means to be subsequently set forth. Preferablya spring means such as indicated by the springs 80, see FIGURES l and 4,are

secured to the guide bar 72 to yieldingly retain the same inthe positionwith the fingers depending vertically therebeneath but which will permitthe abovek mentioned swinging movement of the guide bar.

Although it has not been deemed necessary toillustrate the same, it isof course possible toprovide a stationary guide extending across thefront end of the body and adjacent the bottom 36 whereby to prevent anytendency of the bales to shift forwardly beyond the front end of thebody.

'LONGITUDINAL FEED MEANS In order to effect the labovementioned rearwardtravel of the entire front transverse row of bales which are supportedby the conveyor 42, there is provided an automatically operablelongitudinal feed means. Although various mechanisms could be providedfor this purpose, a very satisfactory arrangement as illustrated inthese drawings consists of a pair of vertically disposed parallelcrankshafts each designated by the numeral 82 and which are spacedinwardly from the two side walls and forwardly of the open front of thebody. For this purpose, the crankshafts are supported by suitablebrackets 84, the crankshafts having cranks S6 thereon which are disposedin parallel relation. The throw of these cranks is at least equal to thewidth of a bale, that is, to the distance by which the front transverserow of bales is to be displaced rearwardly of the body in order toprovide room for forming the next front .transverse row. The pressermeans further includes a presser bar SS whose opposite ends arejournaled upon the creank throws as clearly shown in FIGURES l and 4.

At the lower end o-f one of the crankshafts there is provided a drivingmeans in the form of gearing, the same including a driven bevel gear asat 90 which in turn is connected to a driving gear 92 carried by an axleor shaft 94 which is likewise suitably journaled upon the lower portionof the framework of the body. A suitable connecting means to behereinafter described imparts power to the shaft 94 from a drive means,and through the connection of the presser bar 88 causes both of thecrankshafts to rotate in unison, This in turn causes the presser bar tomove in la cincular path so that upon the rearward portion of itsmovement the presser bar will engage the front transverse row of bales.at about the midportion thereof, and will press these bales backwardlyand move them from the conveyor 42 onto the rearward portion of the body36.

In order to control the connecting means by which power is applied tothe longitudinal feed means, there is provided an actuator in the formof an actuator lever 96 which is suitably journaled upon the body and isdisposed above the right hand end of the conveyor means and adjacent theside wall 20, in such a position as shown in FIGURE 1 as well as inFIGURES 6-8 [than] that when the front transverse row of bales has beencompletely filled, the bale on the right end thereof will press. againstand depress this actuator and thus initiate operation of the drivingmechanism by which the presser means of the longitudinal feed means willbe caused to make one rotation and thus move the forward transverse rowof bales rearwardly to the position of the second transverse row ofbales. As soon as the bales have been displaced from lthe position shownin FIGURE 5 to that shown in FIGURE 6, the actuator 96 will be releasedand will be returned by any sui-table means, not shown, to its originalposition in readiness for the next operation, thereby discontinuingoperation of the longitudinal feed means.

It will thus be understood that there is a successive intermittentoperation of the longitudinal feed means through the actuator 96 toproduce a step-by-step rearward pushing of successively filled frontrows of bales until the trailer body is completely filled thereby aswill be under-stood from a comparison of FIGURES 5 and 6 with FIGURES 7and 8.

DISCHARGE MEANS After the body of the trailer has been completely lledwith bales as shown in FIGURE 8, a discharge means is automaticallyrendered operative for effecting a cornplete emptying of the body of theltrailer and the discharge of all of the bales therein. For aconsideration of this discharge means reference is now made especiallyto FIGURES 1, 2 and 4.

The discharge means includes a plurality of rollers 109 which arejournaled in the previously mentioned channel members 40 of the body andextend transversely thereof. These rollers also constitute the rearwardportion of the floor 36 and provide an open floor in contrast with theusual bed which comprises the customary bottom of trailers. Each of therods or rollers is journaled for rotation and is provided rat one endwith a gear as at 102 about which is entrained =a chain 104 comprising aconnecting means by which all of the rollers are connected together forsimultaneous rotation. Secured to one of the rollers or rods 100 is afurther gear 106 which in turn is connected as by a chain 108 with adrive shaft 116, and the latter through a connecting means to besubsequently described is connected to a source of power by means of adrive shaft whereby rotation may be irnparted to the series of rollers.It will now be apparent that the rollers provide a construction whichwill fracilitate the rearward travel of successive transverse rows ofbales under the action of the presser bar 88 previously described untilthe trailer body is filled with the bales; and upon rotation beingimparted to the rollers, all of the bales supported thereby will also bedischarged rearwardly from the open rear end of the ytrailer upon theground, from whence they may be collected in a suitable manner whichforms no part of the present invention..

In order to automatically initiate operation of the discharge means assoon las the body has been filled with bales there is provided anactuator including an actuating lever 112 which is suitably journaled inthe body for rotation about a vertical axis and which actuator ispositioned at the rearward portion of the trailer body and adjacent oneside wall thereof in such a manner as to be depressed by the pressure ofa bale in the rearmost transverse row of bales when this last mentionedrow is moved to the eXtreme rear of the trailer body. It will beobserved that the rotation of the discharge rollers 100 will continueuntil the last row of bales, that is the [first] front of the row ofbales releases the actuator 112 whereupon the latter will return to itsoriginal position by any suitable return means, not shown, anddiscontinue further operation of the discharging mechanism.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR THE FEED MEANS As previously mentioned, powerfor operating the above described components of the automatic mechanismof the trailer is obtained from the tractor vehicle by which the traileris towed. For the purpose of this invention it is not deemed necessaryto disclose the precise nature of the connection of the mechanism to theultimate source of power. It is sufficient to indicate a power inputshaft as at which is journaled upon and projects forwardly from thefront end of the trailer and is adapted to be connected in =any suitablemanner to the source of power upon the tractor vehicle. This shaft has amain driving gear 122 which directly engages a pair of driving gears 124yand 126, the two latter gears in turn being connected to a furtherdriven gear 128. The gear 124 serves to transmit power from the powerinput shaft 120 to the transverse feed means; the gear 126 transmitspower to the longitudinal feed means; while the gear 128 transmits powerto the discharge means.

Referring now primarily to FIGURES 9-12, it will be seen that .the gear124 is fixedly secured to the transverse feed means drive shaft 130which is suitably journaled upon the frame of the trailer body. Thepreviously mentioned connecting means by which power is transmitted tothe shaft 60 consists of a clutch assembly 132 which is connected tothese two shafts which are in aligned position as shown in FIGURE 9. Theclutch assembly 132 is of any conventional design and since the detailsof construction of the clutch itself form no part of the inventionclaimed herein, they are omitted as being superfluous. It is sufficientto note that the previously mentioned shaft 66 which is rocked by theactuator 62 has secured thereto as by a clamp 134 the arm 136 of aclutch actuating fork or yoke 138. The arnangement is such auf? l thatasviewed in FIGURE l0, when the actuator 62 is depressed, the fork 138will engage the clutch whereby rotation of the shaft 120 will effectoperation of the conveyor 42'and thus cause operation of the transversefeed means.

In a similar manner it will be observed that the gear 126 is fixedlysecured to a -shaft 140 and the latter in turn isconnected to a clutch142 which may be of the con:- ventonal one-revolution type and which iscontrolled by the actuator 96. Since the details of this clutch and theconnection of the actuator 96 thereto form no part of the inventionclaimed hereinafter, a further description has been omitted asunnecessary. However, the arrangement is such that when the actuatorlever 96V is depressed by pressing of the endmost bale thereagainstasthe bales of the front rowy are moved towards the side wall 20, theclutch 142 will be engaged thus imparting rotation to the crank shafts82fand causing the rotation of the presser bar 88. This actuation willbe discontinued when the` presser bar has pushed the complete first rowof bales from the conveyor 42 onto the rollers 100 and such movement hasdisengaged the bales from contact with the actuator 96 permitting thelatter to return to its inoperative position, the presser bar 88meanwhile returning to it.;` FIG. I position as the clutch 142completes, and amomarically direngages after, one revolution.

In muchrthe same manner, the gear 128 is riedly secured to a shaft 144,which in turn is connected by universal joint 146 to the longitudinallyand rearwardly eX- tending shaft 148 having a gear 15) secured to itsrearwardcnd. The gear 150 in turn is engaged with a gear 152 carried bya transverse shaft 154. A clutch assembly 156 connects the alignedkshafts 110 and 154 and is controlled through the actuator 112 previouslydescribed. The arrangement is such that as long as the actuator 112 isdepressed by engagement of a bale therewith, power will be supplied fromthe input shaft 120 through the gearing 122, 124, 126 and 128, and thenthrough the shafts 144 and 148 to the connecting means by which thegear,150.is connected to the rollers 100. When the actuator 112 isreleased by passage of the bales from the open rear end of the body ofthe trailer, the operation of the discharge means will in turn bediscontinued.

During the operation of the trailer it is intended that the input shaft120 shall be continuously rotated at all times. However, although theshafts 120 and therefore 130,V 140 and 144 are in constant rotation, thetransverse feed means, the longitudinal feed means and the dischargemeans are only intermittently placed in operative engagement therewith,It will thus be seen that these three means for shifting and moving thebales are actuated solely by the bales themselves which are successivelyfed into the trailer body from the discharge chute 16V of the baler andthe inlet chute 38 of the trailer. There is thus a cyclic operation asfollows.

Referring now to FIGURES -8 it will be understood as thebales 14l aresuccessively delivered into the front end ofthe trailer body and droppedupon the conveyor 42 which constitutesthe front portion of the bottom ofthe trailer, each successive bale will depress the actuator 62 and thuscause travel of the conveyor to shift this bale towards the right andofi of the actuator lever or pedal. This intermittent operation willcontinue until the first row of bales has been completely filled asshown in FIGURE 5, and as the lastbale is dropped upon the actuator 62,thus completely filling the first transverse row of bales, the attemptof the conveyor to move the row of six bales shown in FIGURE 5 towardsthe right will depress the actuator 96 and initiate operation of thepresser means. As shown in FIGURE 6 this operation has caused thepresser bar 88 to move the first transverse row of bales off of theconveyor and upon the forward end of the rollers 160. As soon as thefirst row of bales has been shifted to the position shown in FIGURE 6,the [acuator] actuator will be released, thus discontinuing the travelof the [conveyor] presser. Thereupon the continued successive feeding ofbales through the inlet chute 38 will repeat this operation until thefirst row is again filled with bales. |The successive travel of filledtransverse rows of bales rearwardly from the position shown in FIGURE 6continues until as shown in FIG- URE 7 the rearmost row of bales isready to engage and depress the actuator 112 while the right end bale ofthe first transverse row of bales is ready to be moved against theactuator 96. This is the position shown in FIGURE 7. From the positionin FIGURE 7, the last introduced bale operates the actuator 62 and movesthe five bales then standing in this first row towards the right and asixth bale in turn drops into place. When the sixth bale falls, it inturn causes the actuator 62 to again attempt to move the firsttransverse row of six bales towards the right thus depressing theactuator 96 andinitiating operation of the presser means. This moves the[sixth] six transverse rows of balesk as a unit-towardsV the rear andcauses the end bale of the rearward row to in turn actuate the actuator112 and thus initiate operation of the discharge means. This operationmoves the entire mass of bales by rotation of the rollers rearwardly ofand out of the open rear end of the trailer. As the last row of balesleaves the trailer, this being the {first} front transverse row ofbales, the actuator 112 will be released thus discontinuing operation ofthe discharge means and the trailer is now in readiness for a resumptionof the loading of the same.

it will be observed that an important advantage of this inventori isthat the loading and unloading operations of the trailer are entirelyautomatic, are effected in a step-by-step manner, and result in the bodyof the trailer being completely filled with bales at the time of thedischarge of the bales therefrom in a single group. Thus, the usual twoattendants or workers customarily required to load and unload thetrailer are completely eliminated and tie automatic operation of thedevice can be initiated or terminated by merely controlling the powertake-off of the tractor by which rotation is imparted to the drive meansand to the input shaft 120 thereof.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will bereadilyunderstood and further eX- planation is believed to beunnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction shown and described, andaccordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An automatic trailer adapted to be attached to the discharge end of ahay baler comprising a` body having a bottom, side walls and a front andrear, transverse feed means in the front end of said body operable uponthe deposit of bales upon one end of said meansto feed balesintermittently in a step-by-step motion whereby to fill the body with afirst transverse row of bales, longitudinall feed means in said bodyoperable intermittently each time` the first traverse row of bales isfilled to transfer saidfirst row as a unit towards the rear a distancesufficientto provide space in which to form a new first row whereby tofill the entire body with longitudinally spaced transverse rows ofbales, discharge means in said body operable when the entire body isfilled with bales to move all the transverse rows of balessimultaneously to and through the rear of said body.

2. The combination of claim l including a drive meansl connected toasource of power, means connecting each of said transverse feed means,said longitudinal feed means, and said discharge means to said drivemeans for actuationV thereby.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein each of said connecting meansincludes a clutch, an actuator for each clutch for controlling theactuation thereof, each actuator being positioned for actuation by thepressure of a bale thereagainst.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said transverse feed meansincludes a conveyor on the bottom of said body adjacent the frontthereof and of a width sufficient to receive a bale when disposed on endand of a length extending transversely across said body between saidside Walls.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said transverse feed meansincludes an actuator disposed upon said conveyor at one end thereof andpositioned for actuation by the weight of a bale when deposited uponsaid one end from said hay baler, drive means connected .to a source ofpower and to said conveyor and controlled by said actuator for effectingmovement of said conveyor to shift the bale deposited upon said one endtransversely of the body and toward the other end of said conveyor whilesaid actuator is depressed by said bale deposited thereon.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said longitudinal feed meansincludes presser means mounted at the front end of said body andincludes a bar movable longitudinally of said body for pushing a fronttransverse row of bales rearwardly in said body a distance sumcient toreceive a new front row of bales.

7. The combination of claim 6 including an actuator positioned forengagement by the first bale deposited on said transverse feed meanswhen the rst bale has been moved transversely across said body to theother side thereof, drive means connected to a source of power and tosaid presser means and controlled by said actuator for effectingmovement of said presser means to shift the first transverse row ofbales rearwardly as la unit while said actuator is depressed by said rstbale.

8. The combination of claim 1 wherein said discharge means includes aplurality of transversely disposed rollers journaled in said body andforming the rearward portion of said bottom.

9. The combination of claim 8 including an actuator, positioned in saidbody for engagement and depression by a bale of the rearmost of atransverse row of bales when the latter reaches the rear of said body, adrive means connected to a source of power and to said rollers andcontrolled by said actuator for effecting rotation of said rollers whendepressed by a bale whereby to transport all of said bales rearwardly ofand from said body.

10. The combination of claim 1 wherein said transverse feed meansincludes a conveyor on the bottom of said body adjacent the frontthereof and of a width sufficient to receive a bale when disposed on endand of a length eX- tending transversely across said body between saidside walls, said conveyor comprising a pair of endless belts journaledfor rotation upon parallel horizontal rollers secured at opposite sidesof said body, said belts comprising the forward portion of said bottom.

11. The combination of claim 1 wherein said longitudinal feed meansincludes presser means mounted at the front end of said body andincludes a bar movable longitudinally of said body for pushing a fronttransverse row of bales rearwardly in said body a distance sufficient toreceive a new front row of bales, said presser means comprising `a pairof vertical crank axles journaled in said body at the front end thereof,a presser member having its ends journaled on a crank of each axle andpositioned for engaging a transverse front row of bales midway of theheight of the latter, said cranks having a throw at least equal to thedistance through which said first row of bales is to be moved rearwardlyof said body.

12. The combination of claim 1 wherein said discharge means includes aplurality of transversely disposed rollers journaled in said body andforming the rearward portion of said bottom, means secured to each ofsaid rollers and connecting them for simultaneous movement.

13. The combination of claim 12 including an actuator, positioned insaid body for engagement and depression by a bale of the rearmost of atransverse row of bales when 10 the latter reaches the rear of saidbody, a drive means connected to a source of power and to said rollersand controlled by said actuator for effecting rotation of said rollerswhen depressed by a bale whereby to transport all of said balesrearwardly of and from said body.

14. The combination of claim 13, said means being drivingly connected toone of said rollers.

15. An automatic apparatus adapted to accumulate bales discharged by amobile agricultural baler, comprising: a mobile body having a bottom,side walls and fro-nt and rear ends; means at said front end foradmitting successive bales one by one; means at said front end forcausing each bale to stand on one end on said bottom' with its lengthupright; transverse feed means operative upon the receipt of successivebales to feed such bales intermittently und in side-by-side Contactacross said front end to form a first row of several bales; longitudinalfeed means in the body operative each time o rst row is completed totransfer such row rearwardly a distance sufficient to provide space forthe formation of a subsequent row wihereby to accumulate in said body agroup of transverse rows of bales; and discharge means operative whensaid group is accumulated to move said group rearwardly o# of thebottom.

16. An automatic apparatus adapted to accumulate bales discharged by amobile agricultural baler, comprising: a mobile body having bottom meansadapted to receive and support a predetermined number of bales thereon;bale inlet means on the body for successively admitting bales one by oneand including an element disposed in elevated relation to the bottommeans and over which euch bale passes for causing each bale to stand onone end thereof on said bottom mea-ns with its length upright; means onsaid body operative to accumulate said number of bales into a. group,with all bales standing on end; und means operative to disch-arge saidgroup olf of said bottom means.

17. Mobile apparatus for accumulating hay and like bales in arectangular group of several rows of several bales per row and supportedin orderly fashion and on like faces with each bale in each row abuttingits rowproximate neighbor as well as a bale in an adjacent row,comprising: mobile body structure adapted to advance over a field andincluding bottom means of such length and width dimensions as to definea supporting area for the group of bales, said structure having meansincluding a bale inlet for admitting successive bales one by one to saidurea and operative to cause each admitted bale to stand on one end withits length upright for eecting the formation of a predetermined numberof bales in a row along one dimension of said area, with each baleresting on its aforesaid face and abutting its neighbor; row-shiftingmeans on said structure operative incident to the comp-letion of a rowfor shifting such row parallel to said other dimension so as to makeroom for a subsequent row; means effecting cyclic operation of rowformation and row shifting so that each completed row is shifted againsta previously formed row until said group is complete; said bodystructure and row-forming means being operative to retain all bales insaid upright position; and means operative upon completion of said groupfor moving the entire group o of the bottom means to empty saidstructure for the accumulation of a subsequent group of bales, saidmeans for moving the group o of the bottom means being operative toretain said bales still in said upright position.

18. Apparatus for accumulating hay and like bales, comprising: mobilebody structure including generally rectangular, substantially horizontalbottom means having front and rear und opposite side marginal elementsof such dimensions as to define a bale-supporting area several timeslarger than one face of a bale so as to accommodate a rectangular groupof bales measuring several bales long by several bales wide, saidstructure having means including a bale inlet leading t0 said area at acorner portion thereof for admitting a predetermined number ofsuccessive bales onevbyone andl for causing such bales to rest on likebottom faces on a portion of said area along one marginal elementrand toform thereat a substantially horizontal row in which eaoh bale abuis itsneighbor via an upright face; row-shifting means on said structureoperative incident to the completion of a row for shifting such row awayfromV said marginal element and toward its opposite element in an amountsujjcient to make rooml for a subsequent like row; means eectng cyclicoperation of row formation and row shifting so that each completed rowfollowing the first row is shifted against ana' in tarn shifts thepreceding row until the group is completed; and means operative uponcompletion of said References Cited by Vthe Examiner f followingreferences, cited by the Examiner, are of record in the patented .le ofthis patent or the original patent.

UNITED STATES PATENTS group for moving the entire group 017 the bottommeans 15 HUGO O'Y SCHULZ Primary Examiner to emptysad structure for theaccumulation of a subsequent group.

